明修棧道，暗渡陳倉 míng xiū zhàn dào ， àn dù chén cāng

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. repair the plank road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[Wei4 He2] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3] of Chu)
  2. fig. to feign one thing while doing another
  3. to cheat under cover of a diversion

CHARACTERS

明 míng
HSK 1
bright, light, brilliant; clear
修 xiū
HSK 4
study; repair; cultivate
棧 zhàn warehouse; tavern, inn
道 dào
HSK 2
path, road, street; method, way
暗 àn
HSK 5
dark; obscure; in secret, covert
渡 dù
HSK 6
cross, ferry over; ferry
陳 chén exhibit, display; plead; surname
倉 cāng granary; berth; sea